6 Jennifer Aniston movies that are actually good

We don't want to get involved in the whole 'Poor Jen' narrative - painting her like some kind of modern day Ophelia - but it's true that the recently married actress has struggled to replicate her success outside of Friends (not that's she's alone there).

But among the laboured romantic 'comedies' and dramas rank with the stench of pathos, Aniston has actually appeared in a few cinematic gems. We've searched out these tranquil islands in the sea of Metacritic reds and yellows:

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1. Office Space

A cult comedy with a dark edge but soft heart, Mike 'Beavis & Butt-head' Judge's Office Space was a flop on release in 1999 but has rightly become a cult classic in the years since. Peter, Samir and Michael are three programmers stuck in an office job from hell, which only gets more hellish with the arrival of a pair of consultants looking to "downsize".

A mishap at a hypnotist results in Peter taking a new angle on life, making drastic work decisions, splitting from his girlfriend Anne and asking out waitress Joanna (Aniston). Jen could sleepwalk the cool, undervalued, sexy waitress as the most tacky Mary Sue, but Judge absolutely avoids that pitfall. Joanna is a rounded, real character whose wants, hopes, dreams and desires are just as important as those of her male counterparts.

2. The Good Girl

They wrangled together a stellar cast including Jake Gyllenhaal, Zooey Deschanel, John C Reilly and Tim Blake Nelson for this melancholic drama set in a godforsaken corner of Texas, where everyone looks like they would rather be somewhere else, far away. The same goes for Aniston's Justine, bored with her work and her husband (Reilly), until a handsome new colleague (Gyllenhaal, obviously) threatens to change her life - for better or maybe worse.

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Aniston has frequently laboured under her Rachel-from-Friends typecasting and struggled whether playing to type or fighting against it. But in The Good Girl she totally inhabits the disillusioned Justine and manages to make it look totally effortless.

3. The Object of My Affection

Wherein Jen got semi-serious for the first time. This curious romcom-of-sorts sees Aniston play Nina, a meek, kind-hearted social worker who decides she wants to raise her imminent baby with her roommate and best friend George (Paul Rudd). Except she's fallen in love with George, and except George is gay. While the film is obviously a relic of the '90s, its open-minded outlook on sexuality and family is still more progressive than a great many Hollywood films being pumped out today.

It also gave Aniston the chance to engage her underrated dramatic skill for the first time on the big screen, both in making her own character sympathetic and softening her sharp comedic patter to the gentler rapport she has with Rudd's George. As played by the two charming leads with their warm chemistry, The Object of My Affection remains a very enjoyable film to snuggle down with.

4. Friends with Money

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Critically acclaimed Enough Said and Please Give director Nicole Holofcener gathered an impressive cast of Catherine Keener, Frances McDormand, Joan Cusack and Aniston for a story with the controversial message that there may be more to life than being rich(?!).

Aniston is Olivia, a struggling single woman who lives with a certain amount of awe for her three married and wealthy friends. But as the film unfolds, she begins to see that success and money maybe aren't a surefire recipe for happiness.

The subtle and low-key comedy shines thanks to four talented actresses playing effortlessly off each other, and if Aniston occasionally lays on the pathos a bit heavily, the ensemble is more than capable of picking up the slack.

5. Iron Giant

Nobody bothered to show up for The Iron Giant when it hit cinemas in 1999 - it's only in the years since that the animated movie has soared to classic status. The tale of a 9-year-old boy who befriends a huge alien robot, Brad Bird's film is big-hearted and deeply emotional, and right up there with anything Pixar has to offer.

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It's easy to dismiss voice acting in animated films, but it takes a special kind of skill and discipline to bring an animated character to life and not resort to hammy overacting. Aniston played Annie, the widowed mother of lead character Hogarth, and managed to invest a relatively minor role with warmth and humanity. As the extraordinary Spielbergian events of Iron Giant unfold, Aniston grounds it all and is quietly moving throughout. Had this been a live-action film with Aniston as Annie, her performance would've been much more widely recognised.

6. Horrible Bosses

This popular mash-up of The Hangover and Strangers on a Train sees the guy from Arrested Development team up with the guy from Saturday Night Live and the guy from It's Always Sunny to bump off their bosses - which, of course, all goes wrong.

But in spite of itself, it's actually surprisingly funny. A solid cast creates some good chemistry, with Jamie Foxx as their 'murder consultant' and Kevin Spacey and Colin Farrell excelling as Tyrannical Boss and Drug-Addled Boss respectively.

Aniston, cast completely against type as the scantily clad third office overlord, Sexual Harasser Boss, clearly relishes the role, even if she inevitably errs on the OTT so never seems quite as believable as the others. Still, it's a raucous, post-Hangover Hollywood comedy, and since when has believability mattered s**t in those?

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